Porsche Has Made A 935 'Moby Dick' Recreation And We're In Love

Just over a week ago we were busy swooning over Ferrari’s 812-derived SP1 and SP2. This combination of modern mechanicals with classic looks is a compelling concept, but what if instead of being a hyper-rich Ferrari fan, you’re a stupidly wealthy Porsche addict? Happily, Stuttgart has something just up your street.

There’s no mucking around with the name: this 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’ racer-inspired creation is simply called the ‘Porsche 935’. And would you just look at the thing. It’s breathtaking.

The starting point for this retro manifestation of want is a 991 911 GT2 RS. Porsche’s engineers haven’t fiddled with the mechanicals, but they hardly need to. We have a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged flat-six developing 690bhp (not far off the output of the turbo six found in the original car, as it happens), sending its thrust rearwards via a seven-speed ‘PDK’ dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The GT2’s bodywork, though, has mostly been binned in favour of bespoke carbonfibre composite parts. At 4870mm long, it’s over 300mm longer than the car on which it’s based. Perhaps the most dramatic feature is the huge rear wing - it measures 1909mm across, making it nearly as wide as the car.

As well as nods to the past like the aero-friendly “capped rims” and 908-style tailpipes, the 935 has also pinched a load of parts from modern Porsche racing cars. We have the rear wing endplates of a 919 LMP1 car and 911 RSR side mirrors on the outside, plus yet more ‘borrowing’ on the inside.

The carbonfibre steering wheel and digital instrument cluster are the same parts you’d find in the 2019 911 GT3 R. These are complemented by a laminated wood gearshifter that’s riffing off the levers found in the 917, 909 and the Carrera GT.

The 935 has also been given a full roll cage, with the driver parking his or her rear in an FIA-approved Recaro bucket seat with a six-point harness. The interior looks to have been significantly stripped back, although the car does come with air conditioning, just in case your tracks days are more likely to be at somewhere like Laguna Seca rather than a chilly Cadwell Park.

Other because racecar additions include a 115-litre FIA-compliant fuel cell, onboard air jacks, and a fire extinguisher system. It’s a serious car, this, and as you’d perhaps expect, it’s not road legal.

Just 77 will be built, each costing €701,948 plus VAT. The first cars will be in the hands of owners in June 2019.